Batey ends speculation by joining JWT

Media has learned that Batey is to enter the JWT international network as an independent agency, ending months of speculation over the iconic agency's future. The news follows founder Ian Batey's sale of his remaining shareholding in the agency to parent company WPP in mid-2005, a year that also saw some significant account defections from Batey. According to Laurence Mellman, COO at WPP's Voluntarily United Group of Creative Agencies, Batey will be positioned as an independent entity within JWT, in the same manner as India's Contract and Thailand's Conquest, bringing the agency's presence in WPP network Red Cell to an end. "As you will appreciate this has minimal impact on the day to day operations of Batey itself," he said. While discussions about the local market operations are still at an early stage, it is believed that Batey will report into JWT's global HQ in London.